stack up

verb

stacked up; stacking up; stacks up

intransitive verb

1

: to add up

Cars were beginning to stack up behind the bus.

2

: to be in a particular state or situation

Here's how things stack up today.

3

: measure up, compare

—usually used with against

How does he stack up against the other job candidates?

Synonyms of stack up

• compare (with)
• measure up (to)

Examples of stack up in a Sentence

those newspapers have been stacking up in the basement since we moved here

Recent Examples on the Web

These cookies stack up against my own family’s beloved cherry bars. —Heather Riske, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2026

The proposals under consideration will determine whether businesses invest and create jobs, whether opportunity grows or stagnates, whether residents stay or look elsewhere, and how Maryland stacks up against Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania. —Mary D. Kane, Baltimore Sun, 10 Jan. 2026

His impact stacks up in smaller increments. —C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026

Especially when stacked up against The Studio. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stack up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

stack up

verb

: measure up sense 2, compare

see how you stack up against the champion